High Elf Cavalry
|upkeep_cost = |num_figures = |moves = |melee = |defense = |resist = |hits = |abilities = +10% To Hit Forester First Strike }} High Elf Cavalry are a type of Normal Unit that can be recruited in High Elf Towns containing at least a Barracks and a Stables. Cavalry are the basic mounted units in the game. Their higher speed allows them to perform quick strikes against infantry lines, flank them, or bypass them to attack the rear of an enemy army. Thanks to their To Hit bonus, voluntary attacks made by High Elf Cavalry are even deadlier than normal, but they are not very well armored, and need to keep the initiative if they want to survive in battle. High Elf Cavalry have a Construction Cost of , and require an Upkeep Cost of and to maintain. Failure to pay these costs will result in the unit being disbanded automatically. Unit Properties Physical Description High Elf Cavalry are a group of tall humanoids with blond hair, slender and majestic, mounted on swift grey steeds. The elves are colorfully dressed in green shirts, white breeches, and a deep blue cloak. These horsemen fight with swords from horseback. A hint of magic surrounds them at all time, guiding their weapons and allowing them to be more in-tune with the natural world. High Elf Cavalry are a , containing up to mounted soldiers. Attack Properties High Elf Cavalry possess a Melee Strength of which, coupled with their bonus, has an average "raw" output of per Cavalryman. This is quite decent against lighter armor, although it may still not be enough to consistently hurt well-protected opponents. It does get better with however, both in strength and accuracy. At the level, the maximum normally attainable, each Cavalryman will inflict nearly twice this much - points of "raw" , on average. If all are still alive, this has the potential to outright destroy low-tier units. Normally, Melee Damage between two combatants is resolved simultaneously, but like many other mounted units, High Elf Cavalry have the First Strike trait, representing their ability to charge or trample their opponents before they could fight back. This ability triggers whenever the unit performs a voluntary Melee Attack during its own turn, and results in enemy slain by the attack not being able to retaliate against the High Elf Cavalry. In other words, the more the Cavalrymen do with an attack they initiate, the less they will take from the Counter Attack it triggers. First Strike does not work when the Cavalrymen are on the receiving end of a Melee Attack though. There are also a handful of infantry units with reach weapons that possess a counter ability called Negate First Strike, which nullifies this effect entirely when engaging them. Defensive Properties High Elf Cavalry are lightly armored, possessing a Defense score of . They can deflect about points from Conventional Damage attacks, on average. Unfortunately, this is rarely enough to avoid anything but the weakest attacks. On the other hand, they do have per rider, and if they can keep the initiative and attack only on their own terms, High Elf Cavalry may be able to minimize the Melee Damage they take by virtue of their First Strike ability. Their Resistance score is not too high though. Even with their racial bonus, they only have - just enough for a fair chance at avoiding the weakest Unit Curses and other ill effects. However, all three of these statistics do improve with . Other Properties High Elf Cavalry are faster than most infantry units with their Movement Allowance of , and may use this to their advantage to maximize the effectiveness of their First Strike. Like most High Elves, Cavalry also possess the Forester ability, which allows them to traverse Forest tiles for a movement cost of only , and extends to any other unit grouped with them as well. In fact, should one of those be a Mountaineer, the entire stack's Movement Type will be upgraded to Pathfinding instead, letting them cross any land terrain for per tile as long as they stay together. Basic Strategy Although more expensive to train and maintain than the more common foot soldiers, High Elf Cavalry offer some significant advantages compared to them. Overland, they are the earliest non-ship unit available to High Elves that can move more than one tile per turn without magical assistance. Coupled with their ability to quickly cross Forested areas, this makes them an excellent Normal Unit for both scouting and quick response. This can be important early in the campaign because High Elves don't have Engineers, and thus can not build Roads of their own unless they either subjugate a Race that can recruit Engineers, or get an opportunity to hire some as Mercenaries. In battle, their faster movement allows High Elf Cavalry to not only utilize their First Strike more easily, but also to reach the enemy more quickly, and possibly get around their front lines to make short work of any weaker units in the rear. On the other hand, like all mounted units, High Elf Cavalry don't have as many as infantry units do. Although more powerful, they execute a lower number of attacks with each command given to them, which makes enhancement effects and somewhat less effective, since they grant less of an overall benefit. Each that a High Elf Cavalry unit loses also has a higher impact on their total output. However, while they don't wear better , Cavalrymen do have more than most foot soldiers, so they don't go down that easily. Regardless, pressing the attack is vital for their survival, since their First Strike will not trigger when they are being attacked by an enemy, which generally means that they will take much more in this case. This makes High Elf Cavalry somewhat less useful in situations where they need to remain stationery, such as when defending a walled Town or protecting a line of Ranged Attack units from close combat opponents. It also puts them at a disadvantage when facing enemies, as voluntary Melee Attacks against these are not possible for units without short-range attacks. During the later stages of the game, High Elf Cavalry become somewhat less useful, as High Elves have multiple other units that can fill their roles. In particular, Elven Lords can be considered a direct upgrade to this unit, since they combine the same basic ability set with much better attribute scores. High Elf Magicians also have a Movement Allowance of per turn and can thus be used as quick response units; while the Pegasai are superior scouts and have the potential to prevent assets from being taken over by -based units regardless of how powerful they are. However, all of these units require more advanced Town Buildings to create, and are significantly more expensive than High Elf Cavalry. Ability Overview First Strike * Whenever this unit makes a voluntary Melee Attack against an enemy target, it delivers its Melee Damage before the target does, as opposed to resolving it at the same time. Therefore, defending slain by this do not get to retaliate at the unit. * This ability does not work when the unit is Counter Attacking against an enemy assailant. +10% To Hit * This unit has an extra to hit its target with every die of its Attack Rolls. This improves its statistical chance to inflict more with each attack it makes. Forester * This unit, and any others grouped with it on the overland map, may move through Forest tiles at a rate of 1 Movement Point per tile. * Should the stack also contain a Mountaineer, the Movement Type of the group becomes Pathfinding instead, allowing them to enter any tile that they normally could for a cost of only . Experience Table The following table illustrates how High Elf Cavalry improve with Experience. Any properties that are not listed here are not affected by in any way. * To achieve this level, either the Warlord Retort or the spell must be in play. ** To achieve this level, both Warlord and must be in play simultaneously. Average Damage Output The table below details the average amount of "raw" that each in a High Elf Cavalry unit will deliver based on . It can be used in comparison to the target's Defense rating to approximate the chance of hurting that target. Acquisition High Elf Cavalry may be recruited in High Elf Towns that have both a Barracks and a Stables already built, and have a Construction Cost of . They may also appear as Mercenaries, provided that the player has a presence on Arcanus. In this case, they cost between to to hire per unit, based on their - or half that much for Charismatic Wizards. Category:Units Category:Normal Units Category:High Elves Category:Cavalry